Taproot Foundation Announces Reorganization
NEW YORK, NY, March 23, 2009 - In response to the changing economic environment, the Taproot Foundation today announced a reorganization effective March, 2009. Although in the current climate the potential for impact through pro bono work is incredibly high, institutional funding, which is our primary source of revenue, is contracting. As a result, we regret to announce that as of Friday, March 30th, we will suspend our current operations in the Boston area. We have also made limited staff cuts to reduce expenses in areas other than service delivery.
There continues to be great demand for the service provided by the Taproot Foundation as it works to strengthen nonprofits by engaging business professionals in service. Nonprofit demand has increased sharply, with 30% more applicants for our Service Grants last quarter compared to the same quarter last year. The supply of pro bono consultants has also surged, partially as a result of the emphasis put on service by the Obama Administration. In the past quarter, applications to do pro bono work through the Taproot Foundation increased, to almost 3,000 applications in that quarter alone. Corporate leaders are increasingly embracing pro bono as an innovative, high-impact strategy that fits their new economic environment and serves as an offset to shrinking cash grants.
The current recession, however, is hurting us as it is hurting the rest of the nonprofit sector. Our current revenue forecast stands $700,000 below our initially projected budget for the fiscal year 2009. As a reaction to these changes in our environment, we have shifted our growth strategy and made several cuts.
Suspending Boston operations
As of Friday, March 30th, 2009 we will suspend our current operations in the Boston Area, with the hope of resuming support and service to that area's nonprofit community in the coming years. The Taproot Foundation is fully committed to honoring the Service Grants we have already awarded in the Boston area and we will maintain our base of talented pro bono consultants in order to successfully complete each project in process.
Since the fall of 2006, Taproot Foundation has delivered over two million dollars in pro bono service to Boston community nonprofits by engaging the skilled contributions of more than 250 local business professionals on 49 Service Grant projects with local nonprofits. While the Boston community has eagerly sought the Foundation's Service Grant support, the funding to support our Service Grant program in the Boston area is simply not sufficient to support our operation there at this time.
The timing of the recession with respect to the Taproot Foundation's success in Boston is unfortunate. The financial crisis hit just as we were beginning to be recognized by local funders as an essential partner for capacity building in the sector. In response to this support, we have every intention of stepping back in to this market when the economy and funding environment allow. We trust that the Boston community will welcome us home when that time comes to pass.
The Taproot Foundation wishes to express our gratitude to key partners in the Boston area whose belief in our work and in the potential for pro bono service have helped us make a difference in that community. Some of these partners and friends include The Goldhirsh Foundation, UPS, Microsoft, Commongood Careers, Third Sector New England, Root Cause, Strategy Matters, Mendelsohn, Gittleman & Associates, LLC, Nonprofit Solutions, Susan Egmont, and Alan Brickman.
We assure our partners and the community that we will fulfill each and every one of our current obligations. We are hopeful that this decision is a temporary one and that our colleagues in the nonprofit sector will continue to make the hard choices necessary to ensure sustainability in providing a safety net of services and support to those most in need and at risk in our communities.
Additional changes
As the new realities of our country's economic outlook become clearer, we are certain that this decision will be one of many difficult choices made by the nonprofit community across the country. All actions taken to restructure the Taproot Foundation, along with the suspension of Boston operations, have been made in an effort to responsibly ensure the long-term health and viability of our organization's work across the country. The Taproot Foundation is now focused on meeting the increased demand for our Service Grant offerings in our remaining six geographies, and we will pursue geographic and portfolio growth opportunities on a more limited basis. We also plan to leverage our existing infrastructure and core competencies to foster increased interest in pro bono in the public and private sectors.
To reduce our expenses not directly related to service delivery, we have eliminated 3 administration-level staff positions and 2 management-level positions and restructured our Program staff to increase our Service Grant management capacity. We have consolidated our three geographic regions into two, with Executive Director Megan Kashner leading the Eastern - Central Region (Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C.), and Executive Director Joel Bashevkin leading the Western Region (Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle). We remain on track to launch our new Service Grant Practice Area, Leadership Development & Strategic HR, before the start of 2010. We will continue to expand our work with corporations to help them establish their own unique forms of pro bono service, and to develop the pro bono movement in the professional community by ensuring the pro bono ethic is adopted beyond the legal profession.
Thank you for your belief in the Taproot Foundation and in the pro bono movement.
Taproot Foundation Office of the President & Founder
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